Browns writer Steve Doerschuk takes his final 2013 look at the next opponent, featuring key matchups sure to influence Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. Kickoff time is 1 p.m.

The search for orange October

Maybe it seems like an eternity, but on Oct. 3, the Browns moved 21⁄2 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North standings with a Thursday night win over Buffalo. The Steelers were in their bye week and had their own eternity to sit on an 0-4 record. It's not as if the schedule had been a muderers row (Titans, Bengals, Bears, Vikings).

It began to turn with Pittsburgh's 16-9 road win over the Jets on Oct. 13. By Nov. 24, a 27-11 win at Cleveland had the Steelers alive in the playoff race, at 5-6. A Dec. 8 home loss to Miami seemed fatal, dropping them to 5-8, but subsequent wins over Cincinnati and at Green Bay — coupled with many teams' struggles — leave them at 7-8, with a shot at the AFC's No. 6 postseason seed.

Steelers in playoffs if ...

Beating the Browns would give the Steelers the AFC's second wild-card spot if: Baltimore loses at Cincinnati, Miami loses to the visiting Jets, and San Diego loses at home to Kansas City.

Mike Tomlin vs. Rod Chudzinski

This is a great chance for Chudzinski to salvage what has turned into a dismal first year at the Browns' helm. The 4-11 record seems all the worse because of the Steelers' history since Tomlin took over for Bill Cowher in 2007. Since then, Tomlin is 29 games over .500 (70-41) in the regular season. The Browns are 37 game under .500 (37-74), and 2-11 against Tomlin. ... Tomlin's team played with a much stronger will than Chudzinski's down the stretch of a Nov. 24 game at Cleveland. A 27-11 home loss stands as this year's worst Browns game, in many ways. The Steelers' decision to fire coordinator Bruce Arians after the 2011 season was ridiculous, in retrospect, but replacement Todd Haley has begun to make headway. Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton needs a statement game amid a buzz he was over-rated. Dick LeBeau, 76, sends a patchwork Pittsburgh defense against 61-year-old Norv Turner, whose chances in the first game took a hit when Jason Campbell went down with a concussion.

Rookie Le'Veon Bell vs. sagging run defense

The Browns have been abused for 387 rushing yards within the last two games. Defensive end Desmond Bryant has spent the month on injured reserve and nose tackle Phil Taylor left the Jets game with a concussion. Bell (6-1, 244) got nowhere two weeks ago against Cincinnati (24 carries, 57 yards), but looked like a classic Pittsburgh power back Sunday at Green Bay (26 carries, 124 yards). The Browns couldn't stop Jets backs Chris Ivory and Bilal Powel (163 yards, 6.0 per carry), encouraging Pittsburgh to feature Bell in the current game plan. In the first Browns-Steelers game, with Tank Carder replacing injured Craig Robertson at inside linebacker, Bell ran 23 times for 80 yards.

Page 2 of 2 - Ben Roethlisberger vs. fading pass rush

Since the Browns passed on him in favor of Kellen Winslow in the 2004 draft, Roethlisberger is 16-1 in his starts against Cleveland. "Big Ben" got kicked around early in the season, when he took most of his 41 sacks. The Browns didn't sack him at all on Nov. 24, and his uncanny escapes are written all over the series history. He has been sharp lately, throwing 15 touchdown passes and three interceptions during the team's current 5-2 hot streak. He threw for 367 yards (Lions) and 349 yards (Dolphins) in recent home games.

Five-foot-10 wideout Antonio Brown's quickness and precise routes give cornerback Joe Haden more trouble than he gets from the larger star receivers. Roethlisberger's 41-yard touchdown pass to Brown late in the first half at Cleveland was a game bender. Haden might be running on fumes.

Jason Campbell vs. Jason Worilds

The Steelers sacked Campbell twice and Brandon Weeden three times in the first game. Worilds has become their best pass rusher; in fact, he may be the reason they follow their pattern of letting an aging rusher (LaMarr Woodley) go, rather than overpaying him. Worilds leads Woodley 8-5 in sacks and 29-28 in pressures. As always, LeBeau will make it hard to predict where his rushers will line up and attack. Former Ohio State star Cameron Heyward might be turning a corner as a third-year pro. He is a threat as an inside rusher and has 28 pressures. As always, the former Hall of Fame defensive back LeBeau must be watched for the corner blitz. The Browns completely missed William Gay on such a play last month, when Gay knocked Campbell into next Tuesday.

Weighing on the game

Steelers wideout Antonio Brown has 101 catches and needs 11 more to match Hines Ward's franchise record of 112. ... Josh Gordon gave the Browns 14 catches for 237 yards in the first Pittsburgh game, but most of the production came when the Browns were hopelessly behind; he had five catches for 62 yards at halftime. ... The Browns tried three running backs in the first Steelers game, Chris Ogbonnaya (4-26), Fozzy Whittaker (6-16) and Willis McGahee (4-12). Recentlyy acquired Edwin Baker — Bell's former Michigan State teammate — is expected to get the bilk of the work in the rematch. ... Norv Turner is still aggravated that Troy Polamalu made a strip resulting in an Ogbonnaya fumble in the first game. Polamalu has five forced fumbles this year.